Members of the anti-Fascist group Pegida Watch Canada held protests at events in Montreal and Toronto – the latter sponsored by the Jewish Defence League – that featured a far-right British politician who Pegida Watch says promotes the anti-Islam, anti-immigrant movement that’s taking hold in the Western world.

On March 9, Act for Canada, a group that speaks out about the “clear and present dangers emerging from those who do not embrace Canada’s values along with the threat of homegrown terrorism,” organized a lecture at Ruby Foos restaurant in Montreal by Paul Weston, the leader of Pegida UK, an acronym in German for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.

On March 10, the Jewish Defence League (JDL) sponsored a lecture at the Toronto Zionist Centre by Weston and Lars Hedegaard, president of the Danish Free Press Society. It was titled “The threat of radical Islamic immigration and the erosion of our freedoms.”

Scott Weinstein, a member of the anti-Zionist group Independent Jewish Voices (IJV)-Montreal’s steering committee, said news about the Montreal protest, which attracted about 60 to 70 people, resulted in the event’s cancellation.

Zaytouna-Oliva Women DeportedDetails Emerge about the Capture

Messina, Italy:All 13 of the women on the Women’s Boat to Gaza are currently in the process of deportation after being captured by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and detained in a prison at Ashdod. Wendy Goldsmith, a member of the land team working to secure the release of the women stated that, “the deportation was much quicker than in prior flotillas. While we had a great legal team assisting the women, we suspect that the reason for the quick release was because of all the negative media attention Israel has been receiving for its illegal interception.”

According to early reports from the women released, the Zaytouna-Oliva was surrounded by two warships along with four to five smaller naval boats. The IDF gave warning to the Zaytouna-Oliva to stop their course towards Gaza. When the warning was refused, at least 7 IDF members, both male and female, boarded the Zaytouna-Oliva and commandeered the sailboat. This happened in international waters.

In the course of their capture, the women persisted in telling the IDF that Israel’s interception of their boat was illegal and that they were being taken against their will to Israel.